Carrot Cake Cookies

Why this is a standout Recipe

To appreciate why this is a standout Carrot Cake Cookie recipe we need to get into just a little baking science.

I wanted my carrot cake cookies to have the chewy and crisp texture of a cookie. I didn’t want them to be soft and fluffy like a cake.

The main difference between cake batter and cookie dough is the amount of moisture in the recipe.

Both cakes and cookies have flour, eggs, fat and some leavening. But cookies generally don’t have added liquids.

Do you know what has a lot of moisture? Carrots! So the key to making a great carrot cake cookie is adding plenty of carrot for flavor, but we have to somehow to balance the added moisture.

There’s a lot of science and recipe testing behind these cookies. In a nutshell, there are a few key ingredient and technique choices that make this recipe work.

There are two types of sugar in the cookie. Brown sugar is needed for the molasses flavor present in a good carrot cake. But, I added more white sugar than brown sugar because white sugar has less moisture and is also hygroscopic (attracts and absorbs water).

We use paper towels to wick away some of the moisture from the grated carrots. Then we toss a little flour with the carrots. The flour absorbs more moisture making less water available to the dough.

With these seemingly small adjustments we have carrot cake cookies that taste exactly like carrot cake but have the lovely crisp and chewy texture of a great oatmeal cookie.

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

• Carrots – Grate the carrots to a fine texture so they’re distributed nicely through the dough. 6 oz of carrots should yield about 1 cup of shredded carrots. I don’t recommend pre-shredded carrots from the store since they tend to be quite thick and won’t mix in the dough evenly.  If your food processor shredding disc has only large holes I recommend using a box grater to get a finer texture.
• Brown Sugar/White Sugar – By using slightly more white sugar than brown sugar we get a crisp and chewy cookie. You can use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar.
• Oats – Use old fashioned oats, not quick cooking oats, for the best results.
• Spices – You can adapt the amount and mix of spices to your taste.
• Raisins/Walnuts – You can use currants or any dried fruit in place of the raisins and pecans in place of the walnuts.
• Cream Cheese Frosting – Make the cream cheese frosting to create sandwich cookies or enjoy the cookies plain without frosting.

Process Photos

See the recipe card for detailed measurements and instructions.

• Use the middle size holes on a box grater to finely shred the carrots.
• Spread the shredded carrots onto a paper towel to absorb excess moisture.
• Dump the carrots from the paper towel into a small bowl.
• Toss 2 tablespoons of flour over the carrots. The flour will absorb moisture from the carrots.

• In a mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with both sugars.
• Add the egg and grated carrots.
• Add the dry ingredients (flour, salt, spices, oats).
• Add the raisins and walnuts.

• Scoop the dough into cookie balls. If you plan to eat the cookies without frosting, bake the cookie dough balls or pack them in freezer bags to work ahead.
• If you plan to sandwich the cookies with frosting, flatten the balls to a disc before baking.
• Leave 2″ between the cookies to allow for oven spread.
• Bake until golden brown around the edges and set in the middle.

• While the cookies cool, make the frosting. Start by creaming the butter with the powdered sugar.
• Add the cream cheese, vanilla and lemon
• Whip until fluffy. Use immediately.

• Spread or pipe frosting on the flat side of a cookie.
• Frost half the cookies
• Pair up the cookies by size.
• Sandwich the cookies.

Make Ahead & Storage

• To work ahead, scoop the dough into balls and place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Freeze the cookie balls on the sheet pan then pack them into freezer bags. They can be frozen for up to a month. If you plan to make sandwich cookies, flatten the balls before baking.
• The cream cheese frosting can be made ahead and refrigerated for 2-3 days or frozen for a month. Bring the frosting back to room temperature and re-whip before using.
• Unfrosted baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. They may soften a bit after a day or two.
• Sandwich cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for 6-8 hours. After that they should be refrigerated or frozen. They’re actually quite nice chilled from the fridge.